Food Myths: Setting the Record Straight

When it comes to the food in our kitchens, there's no shortage of tips, advice, and warnings, but not everything we've heard is actually true. Food myths tend to spread quickly and stick around, but we’re going to set the record straight on five food myths.

Myth 1: Putting Bread in the Fridge Keeps It Fresher, Longer

While it may stave off mold for a little while, refrigerating your bread dries it out and makes it go stale much faster than storing it at room temperature. For fresh soft bread, keep it out of the fridge and wrapped up well.

Myth 2: Alcohol Burns Off When Cooking

A lot of amazing recipes call for wine, beer, whiskey, or rum to really give some unique flavor to the dish. It's a popular belief that while the flavors will stick around, all the alcohol will burn off while cooking. While much of it will, you'd actually need to cook the alcohol for a few hours to completely dissolve it. So while adding these flavors into your recipes isn't a bad thing, you should at least know there will be some alcohol kicking around in your meal.

Myth 3: You Shouldn't Cut Raw Meat on Wooden Cutting Boards

Because wood is porous, people fear that wooden cutting boards will easily absorb bacteria from raw meat, and instead opt to use plastic cutting boards, but if you properly sanitize your wooden cutting boards, there's no reason to worry. In fact, plastic cutting boards can be more unsanitary in the long run. They are more prone to scratches than wooden cutting boards, giving bacteria more spaces to thrive, if not sanitized properly.

Myth 4: Microwaves Zap Nutrients

There are a ton of myths out there about microwaves, but this is one of the most popular myths. While any method of cooking removes some nutrients from your food, the microwave can often be the most nutritious way to cook. It uses less heat and takes less time, retaining more nutrients. Check out our post on other microwave myths.

Myth 5: Searing Meat Seals in Juices

In fact, searing meat could cause it to lose more moisture than slow cooking it over low heat. Searing meat does help preserve flavor and letting it sit for anywhere from five to ten minutes after cooking will keep it at its juiciest.

Myths Busted!

Since a lot of food myths exist for a reason, it can be hard to decipher which ones are true and which are just old wives' tales. But now that you know the truth behind these myths, there will be no fooling you!